Cylinder Beach, North Stradbroke Island

Another beautiful beach on the island

Absolutely breathtaking. A must do for all of Brisbane's inhabitants. The journey to and from is quite the experience too. Hop a passenger ferry ride from Cleveland to North Stradbroke Island, services available 7 days a week and about 15 bucks a head (students get half rate). Vehicle ferries too are possible, but be prepared to dish it out (about 70-100 bucks each way) and would need to be booked well in advance. Comfy ferry ride! Stay inside with some a/c on your face, or get adventurous and get some gale strength sea air puffing out your cheeks on the top deck seating area. I've heard that one of the ferries even has a café of sorts. Ride time - 45 mins. The bus journey (Go-cards won't work) is $10 for the entire day, as many bus rides within the island as you please, again 50% off for students. Get ready to walk a fair bit within the island, though, as buses may not be around every 10 mins like in the city. The bus journey from the ferry point ends at North Straddie's gorge walk. Ride time - 30 mins~. The gorge walk - The sights are too pretty to be true. Our attempt on a mildly sunny day produced crystal blue ocean waters, refined golden sands, and sculpted cliffsides that are simply too beautiful to describe. The gorge walk takes about 20-30 mins to complete and is a fair stretch to your legs (especially if you're lugging around some food and drink). You finish the trail almost at where you started (it's basically a big loopy circuit on the cliffside) and camp it out with a picnic sheet on the grassy banks overlooking the clear blue sea. Sightings of sea turtles and whales are quite a common occurrence. Mind the 'roo poo, though. Plenty of fellas hopping around, with a blatant disregard to the touristy kind, carrying on with their business! End the day with a dip in the sea, the Cylinder beach is about a 45 min walk/5 min bus ride (if you time your journey right - we didn't!). The indoor showers/changing rooms at the beach could be a little better maintained, but to be honest, it was really no big deal! All in all, a Saturday well spent. Happy days!